Action Research

Catalog description

This course focuses on methods of designing and conducting action research in education. Topics include: teacher as a reflective practitioner, practitioner inquiry, characteristics of action research, data collection and analysis, determining validity and trustworthiness, and ethical issues related to action research. Residents will conduct action research to learn how to engage in inquiry about teaching in order to improve practice. Classroom-based action research will be used as a vehicle for systematically addressing questions about teaching and learning in your classroom. Empowering the teacher as a researcher, this course will push you to probe deeper into areas of personal and professional interest relevant to your students’ socio-emotional and academic success. To build the habits of mind and skills of inquiry that can be used throughout your career, all residents will engage in a semester-long action research project aimed at understanding a problem of practice you are facing and engaging in inquiry to better meet the needs of your students. To do this, you will develop your understanding of action research, the epistemologies used by researchers to approach critical questions in education, and the issues raised by your work as a teacher-researcher.